Valuation, Performance Measurement and Risk Management in Private Equity
Arnold Ekpe, CEO of Ecobank recently stated: “We don’t have an African strategy, Africa is our strategy.” Ecobank is one of several African private equity success stories of the past decade, growing from a small regional bank to a pan-African bank with the largest branch network on the continent. Much of this has been achieved...
Investing in Africa in 2013
The global search for yield will continue to see investors viewing Africa with interest this year, despite corporate governance and other concerns about the continent. To the end of November last year, the FTSE/JSE All Africa (ex-South Africa) 30 index, which tracks the top 30 stocks on the continent, returned a remarkable 33.96% in US...
Choosing your fund manager
When deciding which fund manager to invest with, the first step is to identify your investment goals and strategy, including your investment horizon, as well as what kind of returns you are looking for. “You may be saving for the long-term, perhaps for retirement, and may want an equity-based investment strategy, or you may opt...
Turn left at Robert Mugabe
RisCura's Andrew Slater travels to Namibia to see a pension fund client, and poses the question: "Have we gone wrong in the UK to see pensions through such a distorted lens?" To my British ears it was a little disconcerting to hear his name at all, let alone said in such measured tones. But the...
RisCura appoints Andrew Slater to meet UK pension fund interest in emerging markets
RisCura, investment advisors specialising in emerging markets, specifically Africa, today announced that they have appointed Andrew Slater as Managing Director for their UK operation. Slater will be primarily responsible for leading business development and strategic projects. Commenting on his appointment, Petri Greeff, Director for RisCura...
International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines – Dec 2012
A revised version of the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines (“IPEV Guidelines”) was issued on 17 December 2012. The revised Guidelines are intended to be applicable across all private equity funds and to all financial instruments commonly held by private equity funds. The new Guidelines are effective for...
Liability-driven investing the only framework for pensions
The South African pension fund industry is recognising that in today’s environment, liability driven investing (LDI) is the only viable framework to use in formulating an investment strategy. This is according to Prasheen Singh head of investment consultant RisCura Consulting. A successful LDI strategy targets a customised benchmark defined by...
African private equity coming of age
Increased interest by international investors, and a shortage of listed companies, is bolstering private equity in Africa. Rory Ord, head of RisCura Fundamentals, which provides independent valuation, risk and performance analysis services, says the paucity of listed instruments in Africa (with the exception of South Africa) makes private equity...
Know your funding level when saving for retirement
When saving for retirement, members of defined contribution (DC) pension funds should start with a realistic look at how much income they’ll need when they retire, and what sort of capital will be required to fund that income. They then need to continually keep an eye on their funding level. This is a conceptual departure...
